Gadget and Technology Roundup

Monday, July 18, 2011

The last few days have been pretty rife with news in the gadget industry. Here are a few of the highlights:

RIM Discontinuing Wi-Fi Playbook Tablet-

Word on the street is Research in Motion, (makers of Blackberry smartphones), is set to discontinue production of the Wi-Fi only Blackberry Playbook. While this news is still speculative, it is thought that it is most likely due to few sales and overproduction. RIM will most likely be coming out with a cellular version of the Playbook that would be available on contract with multiple carriers. Source

iPhone 5G Case Outs the Apparent New iPhone Design-

A company called Kulcase recently listed a crystal case for the new iPhone on Asian trade site AliBaba. This case shows the flash moved to the opposite side of the camera lens. What is more interesting, however, is the placeholder suggests that the iPhone 5G will have and edge-to-edge display.

This leak is not definitive, and it's hard to say if this is what the final iPhone 5G will look like. It is not completely far-fetched though. Two Foxconn employees were arrested this year for leaking the design of the iPad 2 to case makers before it had been announced. Source

iPad 2 Goes on Sale for $70-

Whoopsie! Saturday was a great day for iPad 2 shoppers. Well... actually, it was terrible. Sears.com listed the iPad 2 for a whopping $69.00 for a brief few moments. This error has been attributed to a third party distributor called GSM. Once the company realized what had happened, customer orders for the $70 iPads were cancelled and refunded. Of course many customers are up in arms over this mistake, and have taken to forums and stores to complain. Source

Google+ Already Facing Competition?-

A group of hackers called Anonymous have stated that they have plans in motion for a new social network that will aims to compete with Google+ and offer an environment it does not. On their website, (which is currently empty), the group states:

"This is one social network that will not tolerate being shut down, censored, or oppressed--even in the face of blackout.

"We the people have had enough ... enough of governments and corporations saying what's best for us--what's safe for our minds.

"The sheep era is over. The interwebz are no longer your prison."

No more details have been released about the project, nor has a time frame been established as to when we could possibly see it. Looks like we will just have to sit back and wait... Source